A federal agency handed more than $1 million to a small Yukon school board to promote “Indigenous food systems,” according to records tabled before the Senate agriculture committee.
According to a story broken by Blacklock’s, the funding came through the federal government’s Northern Isolated Community Initiatives Fund, a program that costs taxpayers roughly $6 million annually and is set to run until 2027.
According to the records, the Yukon First Nation Education Directorate received a total of $1,015,646 from the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency.
The largest portion of the funding, $845,000, went toward planning a “traditional processing kitchen” in Whitehorse.
“This one-year project focused on completing architectural and detailed design plans for a centralized traditional and local foods commercial kitchen,” the agency told senators.
According to the agency, the proposed facility would support the processing and storage of wild game in an urban setting and help promote traditional food-processing knowledge in First Nations curriculum.
Another $170,646 was spent on the Directorate’s urban nutrition program, including the purchase of a temperature-controlled delivery van.
Federal officials defended the spending as part of Ottawa’s broader push to address food security in remote northern communities.
“The fund plays a targeted role in advancing food initiatives that build local capacity,” agency managers wrote.
The Northern Isolated Community Initiatives Fund was launched in 2019 and bankrolls projects ranging from greenhouse operations and farming initiatives to traditional harvesting, food distribution systems and “food innovation” programs.
Records show taxpayers also funded:
- $800,000 for an egg farmer in Hay River;
- $600,000 for a grocery store in Wekweeti, Northwest Territories, population roughly 130;
- $250,000 for a grocer in Arctic Bay;
- $710,000 for fish freezers in Cumberland Sound.
“These examples show how the Agency supports food security, infrastructure and economic growth across the North in line with community needs and regional priorities,” managers wrote.
Hellbound and Down 